So I was in the midst of writing Chapter 10 of "Of Emerald, Amethyst and Lapis" when this idea popped up. Now, I was supposed to start on Chapter 11, but this wouldn't leave me alone so here it is… (Sorry for the mistakes.)

Proving Him Wrong

© 2020 Zest Layne

ONE

Francis Bennet watched his twin sister, Elizabeth, rush to the direction of the garden as soon as they had stepped out of the carriage. Behind him, he could hear their mother exclaim about how Elizabeth should change first, for she would ruin her new gown. He rolled his eyes when the statement was followed by: "Had that girl no compassion for my poor nerves?"

Sighing, he held out his hand to assist his mother out of the carriage. He knew his mother was jesting about her nerves. His father did once told him about his mother's poor nerves but once he had been born, his mother finally calmed. Francis sometimes wondered what would happen if he had never been born. He hoped his mother could handle her nerves.

"Oh, at least my beloved son is here," said his mother as she squeezed his arm. "I know not what I would do without you, Francis."

"You would be probably gushing about how Mr Bingley danced twice with Jane, Mama." He answered with a small smile.

"You are right." Mama sighed. "While that man is certainly amiable, have you seen his sisters?" She scoffed. "The only thing I could admire about them were the laces of their gowns."

"I think the ladies are quite nice, Mama," Jane said softly from behind them, which earned an eye-roll from both Francis and Mama.

Mama turned her head to look at Jane before saying: "Oh, Jane, you are too kind for your own good," she then turned to the direction where Elizabeth ran off to, "Lizzy's too impertinent and," she glanced at Mary who was walking beside Jane, "Mary is too reserved."

Mama then started fanning herself. "What am I to do with you girls?"

"You could rest your nerves now, my dear, and think of a solution tomorrow." Francis smiled when his father approached them. Because of an estate matter, Papa was not able to join them during the assembly. He had offered his help earlier but his father reminded him that a male member of the family should be with Mama and his sisters. Speaking of sisters, they really needed to get Mama to bed so he could talk to Lizzy. His twin sister might try to hide her distress from everyone but she would never get past Francis.

It wasn't that their parents wouldn't understand Lizzy or help with the problem, but Lizzy was used to being independent. She liked doing things on her own. However, since Francis was her twin and elder twin at that, it was kind of acceptable for her to lean on his support from time to time. Judging by her mood tonight, she needed someone to help her see the bigger picture of things.

"I suppose you are right." Mama let Papa escort her towards the house, Jane and Mary following behind them.

Once Francis made sure that the horses and carriage were back in their rightful places with the help of the servants, he headed to the garden where his twin sister was probably moping. He found her seated on the swing.

"Lizzy?"

His twin narrowed her eyes at him and harrumphed before twisting the swing in circles, using her feet to control her movements, making the ropes twist too. She always did this when she's upset.

"Are you going to ignore me all night, sister?" He asked, stepping closer.

Lizzy lifted her feet off the ground so that her body was one with the spinning swing. When the motion stopped, Lizzy arched a brow at him, her hands still tightly gripping the ropes of the swing. "Do you not think that you probably deserved being ignored by your sister?"

"Was this because I stopped you from telling anyone else about Mr Darcy calling you tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt him?" When he noticed his sister visibly flinched at his words, he softened his tone. "Do you not trust your brother, dearest sister?"

When Lizzy looked away, Francis walked closer until he was standing right beside the swing where she was sitting. "Think, Lizzy," he began softly. "What do you think would happen if you spread his slight against your beauty?"

"It would probably blacken his reputation since the people here trust my opinion," Lizzy muttered before turning at him with an impish look. "Then again, he did not need any more help in that area. With how disagreeable that proud man displayed himself tonight, I am sure many were displeased at him."

He was careful not to use a scolding tone at her and did his best to keep his voice even. "Do you think that would be fair to him if you did try to tell people that he's more disagreeable than he appears to be?"

Lizzy remained silent.

"You know, when I was in school, I've learned that there were many men who acted like Mr Darcy." Lizzy turned to him to say something but he beat her to it. "Not because they're arrogant Lizzy."

Lizzy frowned.

"At least, half of them were not."

This seemed to satisfy his twin sister because she smiled a little.

"And a friend of mine, who belong to that half – those who were not arrogant – told me that sometimes, when a very amiable acquaintance drags him to balls, he was forced to say mean things in order to avoid dancing."

Lizzy glared at him.

Francis held his hands up in defence. "I know, this doesn't excuse their actions, Lizzy. But try seeing things from their perspective. An eligible man being hunted by matchmaking mamas and their daughters. The moment they enter the ballroom all people could talk about was their income and estate. How would you feel about that?"

Lizzy pursed her lips and Francis sighed. His twin sister really hated changing her opinion once she made up her mind. Not that he could blame her, he shared the same trait… half the time.

"How about we put it this way," He began a new approach. "Do you not use me as an escape when Mama wanted to take you and our sisters to go shopping?"

Lizzy crossed her arms and looked down at the ground. "It's not the same…" She mumbled quietly.

Why was his sister always so stubborn? Then again, he couldn't really complain because it's a trait they both have. Probably because Jane and Mary were obedient children, he and Lizzy were stubborn and headstrong by nature to make up for it.

How could Francis make Lizzy see things from another perspective? If only he hadn't seen Mr Darcy eye Lizzy with interest earlier at the ball then he wouldn't be doing this. In normal circumstances, Francis would only stop his sister from spreading the man's misdoings but he wouldn't bother changing Lizzy's opinion on the gentleman. He was offended on Lizzy's behalf; after all, he too had heard Mr Darcy's insulting words first hand since he was sitting beside Lizzy when it happened.

But after seeing the gentleman looked at his twin sister with interest not much later after his refusal to dance with her, Francis made up his mind to guide the two of them together. He might prefer books to balls like his father but Francis Bennet was still his mother's son. And what kind of twin would he be if he didn't help his sister secure a good match?

Speaking of matches… Lizzy was never easily affected by insults. She always laughed about it but never had he seen Lizzy so vexed. Besides, Lizzy was confident in everything about herself, even her beauty. Unless…

"Why were you even so affected by his words?" Francis asked, searching his sister's face for any reaction. "You never cared about looks before and you know that you're pretty."

"I…" Francis had never seen so many expressions and colours crossed his twin sister's face in such a short amount of time.

"Unless…" he started with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Unless you thought him to be the most handsome man of your acquaintance so hearing his insults affected you more than you would like to admit." Francis was only teasing his sister but the way her eyes turned glassy only proved that his words were correct.

"That's it, isn't it?"

Lizzy turned away from him.

He contemplated on his words before speaking again. "You know, instead of telling people what he did to you and how much you disliked him, you could prove him wrong." He waited until Lizzy looked him in the eye and paused for dramatic effect. "Prove him that you are not just tolerable…. and that… you are, indeed, handsome enough to tempt him."

With the way the corner of his twin sister's mouth twitched, Francis could tell that Lizzy was already planning a hundred ways on how she could prove Mr Darcy wrong about her.

As Lizzy stood up from the swing and walked away, Francis Bennet silently wished Mr Darcy good luck. Judging by the sparkle in his sister's eyes and the spring in her step, Mr Darcy was going to need it.

The swing was inspired by the swing in the 2005 version when Charlotte confronted Lizzy.

What do you guys think? This one is going to be shorter than OEAaL so hopefully, I can update and finish this one quicker. That way, I can focus on OEAaL with nothing to distract me.

Update: Next Sunday (January 26, 2020); the first phase of Lizzy's plan.